The Caretakers
Encyclopedia
The Caretakers is a 1963 United Artists
film drama starring Joan Crawford
, Robert Stack
, Polly Bergen
and Janis Paige
in a story about a mental hospital.
The screenplay was adapted by Henry F. Greenberg from a story by Hall Bartlett
and Jerry Paris
based on the 1959 novel
The Caretakers by Dariel Telfer. The film was produced and directed by Bartlett and co-produced by Paris. The Caretakers is reminiscent of a 20th Century Fox
film set in a similar hospital, The Snake Pit
(1948).
Head of the hospital Dr. Harrington is weak-willed. Terry's assistant, nurse Bracken, supports her superior's stand. After much trial and error and the harrowing near-rape of a patient, MacLeod's ideas prevail in spite of the opposition and meet some success.
Patients include a distraught mother, Lorna Medford; a former prostitute, Marion; a pyromania
c, Edna, and a former schoolteacher, Irene.
Joan Crawford arranged for each day's scenes with veteran actor Herbert Marshall, an old friend who was in frail health, to be shot first, thus allowing him to finish his work early in the day.
Crawford was on the board of directors of Pepsico
and Pepsi-Cola product placements include a scene at the hospital picnic, which features a wagon dispensing the soft drink.
Bosley Crowther noted in the New York Times, "Altogether, this woman's melodrama is shallow, showy, and cheap - a badly commercial exploitation of very sensitive material."
nomination for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White
:Lucien Ballard
. It also received Golden Globe Award
nominations for Best Motion Picture - Drama
, Best Motion Picture Actress - Drama
: Polly Bergen, and Best Motion Picture Director
: Hall Bartlett.
on April 15, 2010 through Amazon.com as part of the MGM Limited Edition Collection.
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
film drama starring Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
, Robert Stack
Robert Stack
Robert Stack was an American actor. In addition to acting in more than 40 films, he was the star of the 1959-1963 ABC television series The Untouchables and later served as the host of Unsolved Mysteries.-Early life:...
, Polly Bergen
Polly Bergen
Polly Bergen is an American actress, singer, and entrepreneur.-Career:Bergen appeared in many film roles, most notably in the original Cape Fear opposite Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum...
and Janis Paige
Janis Paige
Janis Paige is an American film, musical theatre and television actress. Born Donna Mae Tjaden in Tacoma, Washington, she began singing in public from the age of five in local amateur shows...
in a story about a mental hospital.
The screenplay was adapted by Henry F. Greenberg from a story by Hall Bartlett
Hall Bartlett
Hall Bartlett was an American film producer, director, and screen writer.-Early life:Born in Kansas City, Missouri, he graduated from Yale University Phi Beta Kappa, and was a Rhodes Scholar nominee...
and Jerry Paris
Jerry Paris
Jerry Paris was an American actor and director best known for playing Jerry Helper, the dentist and next door neighbor of Rob and Laura Petrie, on The Dick Van Dyke Show.-Life and career:...
based on the 1959 novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
The Caretakers by Dariel Telfer. The film was produced and directed by Bartlett and co-produced by Paris. The Caretakers is reminiscent of a 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
film set in a similar hospital, The Snake Pit
The Snake Pit
The Snake Pit is a 1948 American drama film directed by Anatole Litvak. The film tells the story of a woman who finds herself in an insane asylum and cannot remember how she got there, and stars Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Beulah Bondi, and Lee Patrick.The film was...
(1948).
Plot
Young, optimistic psychiatrist Dr. Donovan MacLeod wants to prove his theory that mental patients can benefit from group therapy. His method of treatment, with no violence or punishment, is met with a great deal of resistance from his unyielding and self-righteous head nurse, Lucretia Terry, who believes in traditional methods such as strait-jackets and padded cells for treating the mentally ill.Head of the hospital Dr. Harrington is weak-willed. Terry's assistant, nurse Bracken, supports her superior's stand. After much trial and error and the harrowing near-rape of a patient, MacLeod's ideas prevail in spite of the opposition and meet some success.
Patients include a distraught mother, Lorna Medford; a former prostitute, Marion; a pyromania
Pyromania
Pyromania in more extreme circumstances can be an impulse control disorder to deliberately start fires to relieve tension or for gratification or relief. The term pyromania comes from the Greek word πῦρ . Pyromania and pyromaniacs are distinct from arson, the pursuit of personal, monetary or...
c, Edna, and a former schoolteacher, Irene.
Cast
- Robert StackRobert StackRobert Stack was an American actor. In addition to acting in more than 40 films, he was the star of the 1959-1963 ABC television series The Untouchables and later served as the host of Unsolved Mysteries.-Early life:...
as Dr. MacLeod - Joan CrawfordJoan CrawfordJoan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
as Lucretia Terry - Polly BergenPolly BergenPolly Bergen is an American actress, singer, and entrepreneur.-Career:Bergen appeared in many film roles, most notably in the original Cape Fear opposite Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum...
as Lorna Medford - Janis PaigeJanis PaigeJanis Paige is an American film, musical theatre and television actress. Born Donna Mae Tjaden in Tacoma, Washington, she began singing in public from the age of five in local amateur shows...
as Marion - Herbert MarshallHerbert MarshallHerbert Marshall , born Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall, was an English actor.His parents were Percy F. Marshall and Ethel May Turner. He graduated from St. Mary's College in Old Harlow, Essex and worked for a time as an accounting clerk...
as Dr. Harrington - Barbara BarrieBarbara BarrieBarbara Barrie is an American actress and author of children's books.-Personal life:Barrie was born as Barbara Ann Berman in Chicago, Illinois, of Jewish heritage, the daughter of Frances Rose and Louis Berman. She was raised in Corpus Christi, Texas. She graduated from University of Texas,...
as Edna - Ellen CorbyEllen CorbyEllen Corby was an American actress. She is most widely remembered for the role of "Grandma Esther Walton" on the CBS television series The Waltons, for which she won three Emmy Awards...
as Irene - Diane McBainDiane McBainDiane McBain is an American actress who, as a Warner Brothers contract player, reached a brief peak of popularity during the early 1960s...
as Alison - Sharon Hugueny as Connie
- Susan OliverSusan OliverSusan Oliver was an American actress, television director and aviator.-Early life and family:Susan Oliver was born Charlotte Gercke, the daughter of journalist George Gercke and astrology practitioner Ruth Hale Oliver, in New York City in 1932. Her parents divorced when she was still a child...
as Cathy - Ana St. Clair as Ana
- Robert VaughnRobert VaughnRobert Francis Vaughn, , is an American actor noted for stage, film and television work. His best known roles include the suave spy Napoleon Solo in the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., wealthy detective Harry Rule in the 1970s television series The Protectors, Albert Stroller in...
as Jim Melford - Van WilliamsVan WilliamsVan Zandt Williams is a former actor best known for his television role as Britt Reid/the Green Hornet. He teamed for one season with the late Bruce Lee as his partner Kato, in the television series The Green Hornet, broadcast on ABC during the 1966-67 season.Williams was also known for his...
as Dr. Larry Denning - Virginia Munshin as Ruth
Production
Co-writer/co-producer Jerry Paris also appears in The Caretakers as a passerby Lorna bumps into on the street.Joan Crawford arranged for each day's scenes with veteran actor Herbert Marshall, an old friend who was in frail health, to be shot first, thus allowing him to finish his work early in the day.
Crawford was on the board of directors of Pepsico
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...
and Pepsi-Cola product placements include a scene at the hospital picnic, which features a wagon dispensing the soft drink.
Reception
Variety commented, "Miss Crawford doesn't so much play her handful of scenes as she dresses for them, looking as if she were en route to a Pepsi board meeting."Bosley Crowther noted in the New York Times, "Altogether, this woman's melodrama is shallow, showy, and cheap - a badly commercial exploitation of very sensitive material."
Awards and nominations
The Caretakers received an Academy AwardAcademy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nomination for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White
Academy Award for Best Cinematography
The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
:Lucien Ballard
Lucien Ballard
Lucien Ballard, A.S.C. was an American cinematographer and director of photography.Born in Miami, Oklahoma, Ballard began working on films at Paramount Studios in 1929. He later joked in an interview that it was a three day party at the home of actress Clara Bow that convinced him "this is the...
. It also received Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
nominations for Best Motion Picture - Drama
Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama
This page lists the winners and nominees for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama, since its institution in 1951. The organizer, Hollywood Foreign Press Association , is an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications...
, Best Motion Picture Actress - Drama
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture - Drama was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951...
: Polly Bergen, and Best Motion Picture Director
Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Motion Picture
This page lists the winners of and nominees for the Golden Globe Award for Best Director. Since its inception in 1943, it has been presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, an organization composed of journalists who cover the United States film industry for publications based...
: Hall Bartlett.
DVD release
The Caretakers was released on Region 1 DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on April 15, 2010 through Amazon.com as part of the MGM Limited Edition Collection.